Dear Parents and Carers,

This week we acknowledge Education Week. Education Week is always a wonderful opportunity to pause and celebrate the incredible learning, growth and connection that happens in our school community every single day. This year’s theme, ‘Showcase Your School’, is a reminder of the many things that make our school such a special place to learn, work and belong.

Throughout Education Week, staff have been capturing special moments of learning, growth and connection across our school. We are excited to share that early next week families will receive a special showcase celebrating the many opportunities our students engage in each day.

This celebration highlights the heart of Boneo Primary School – the everyday moments that make our school such a vibrant and supportive learning community. From students collaborating in classrooms, participating in hands-on learning experiences, reading with confidence, exploring robotics in SPARK, engaging in creative arts and wellbeing activities, supporting one another in the yard, and proudly sharing their achievements, it reflects the energy, curiosity and care that are evident across our school every day.

What stands out most is the strong sense of belonging that underpins everything we do. We are proud of the way our students support one another, demonstrate resilience, embrace challenges and continue striving to achieve their personal best. Our staff work tirelessly to create engaging learning environments where every child feels known, valued and supported to succeed.

At the heart of our school is a shared vision of high expectations, strong relationships and opportunities for every student to grow academically, socially and emotionally. We believe that learning flourishes when students feel safe, connected and inspired, and Education Week provides the perfect opportunity to celebrate the collective effort that makes this possible.

Thank you to our students, staff and families for the important role you each play in making our school such a positive and vibrant place. We are incredibly proud to showcase our school and the wonderful community that surrounds it, and look forward to sharing this snapshot of learning and school life with you next week.

Attendance
We understand that there can be a range of factors impacting school attendance, and supporting families remains important to us. This week, I have shared information below about two services that families can access either independently or with support from the school to support families with attendance. Over the coming newsletters, I will continue to share additional services and supports available to our community.

Families can also view their child’s attendance percentage through Compass. Monitoring attendance regularly can help families identify patterns and ensure students are maximising their learning opportunities.

To view your child’s attendance in Compass:
1. Log in to the Compass Parent Portal or Compass App. If you are using the Compass app on a mobile, select ‘Open in Browser’
2. Select your child from the home screen
3. Click on the Profile (attendance..) tab
4. Your child’s attendance percentage and attendance history will be displayed and can be viewed as ‘days’ absent, or percentage.

A full record of absences is available from the ‘Full Record’ tab. Please note that attendance calculations include full-day absences, late arrivals and early departures, as all time spent at school contributes to student learning.

Regular attendance helps students build strong routines, maintain friendships, feel connected to school and maximise their learning opportunities.

School Can’t Australia
https://www.schoolcantaustralia.com.au/
School Can’t Australia is a lived-experience knowledge organisation and home to Australia’s largest support network for parents and carers supporting young people with school attendance difficulties. They provide support and resources for families while using collective insights to influence policy and practice across education, disability, and mental health.

Amaze – School Can’t for Children with Autism
https://www.amaze.org.au/support/resources/school-cant-resources-for-parents-carers-and-teachers/
Amaze are a registered charity that support and promote the inclusion of children diagnosed with Autism. Funded by the Victorian Department of Education, Amaze has created a video and two written resources on the topic of school can’t. These resources provide valuable insights into understanding and identifying the early signs of school can’t, as well as how to implement strategies.

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)
Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).

Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:
• year of schooling
• category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
• level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.

This information assists schools to:
• formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools
• consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
• develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability.

The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy (https://www.education.gov.au/privacy-policy). Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au).

If you have any questions about the NCCD, please contact the school.

Upcoming Curriculum Days and Professional Practice Day

Our two remaining Curriculum Days will be held on Friday 5 June and Monday 2 November. Our Professional Practice Day is scheduled for Monday 17 August. On these days, students are not required to attend school as staff will be engaged in professional learning and planning.

Thank you for your support.

School Uniform

I would like to kindly remind all families about the importance of students wearing the correct school uniform each day. School uniforms help promote a sense of unity and pride and ensure that our learning environment remains focused and respectful.

Please ensure that your child arrives at school in full uniform, including appropriate footwear and avoiding jewellery, coloured socks, labelled pants etc. Pants need to be plain black please.

A reminder that students with shoulder-length or longer hair are required to have their hair fully tied back at school. Half-up hairstyles do not meet this requirement.
If you have any questions about the uniform policy or need assistance, feel free to contact the school office.

Calling all Kitchen and Garden enthusiasts

We are looking for volunteers to support our wonderful Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program each week. Sessions run on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11:15am–1:15pm, working alongside our Year 3 and 4 students as they learn valuable gardening, cooking and teamwork skills.

You do not need to have a child in Years 3 or 4 to help out. We warmly welcome parents, carers, grandparents and family members from any year level who would like to lend a hand. Whether you can assist regularly or occasionally, your support makes a real difference to the program and our students.

To volunteer, all you need is:

• A current Working With Children Check (WWCC), and
• Completion of our Volunteer Child Safety Induction.

The induction can be completed at school. Simply contact the office to arrange a suitable time.

We greatly appreciate any support you can provide and would love to have more volunteers involved in this fantastic program. Thank you for helping us create meaningful learning experiences for our students.

District Cross Country

Wild Trials TREC Hike

James and the Giant Peach with 2A

Jump Rope for Heart